Miso Chicken with Cauliflower Mash

I make a compound of miso, honey and unsalted butter almost weekly to have on hand for smearing on toasted baguette or as a dip for raw veggies and/or crackers. You can check out my compound butter recipe here on the sauce page. In this particular dish I've rubbed the compound butter all over chicken thighs and drumsticks which are then roasted to golden perfection. This recipe is bursting with flavor with minimal effort and is a great dish to prepare on a cold stormy night. I served the chicken with mashed cauliflower and sautéed collard greens for a simple weeknight dinner. Feel free to doctor up the collards and cauliflower mash however you'd like. We kept them very basic because the chicken is so darn flavorful we didn't want to have too many intense flavors going on. So just a dollop of butter, salt and pepper and the side veggies were done (and delicious!) We're gearing up for a big storm here at the farm and I'm thankful now that we've spent so many tireless hours harvesting bulk items from the field to have on hand during these storms. It makes preparing a farm fresh meal pretty easy even when the ground is covered in snow. I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as we do. For my vegetarian friends out there--try this same method but spread the butter over roasted cauliflower steaks or roasted potatoes. Let me know what you all think! Cheers from a stormy Tumbleweed Farm.

Miso Chicken with Cauliflower Mash

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup white miso
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar (do not use seasoned rice vinegar!)
  • 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks (or a mix of both)
  • 1 large head of cauliflower, broken into florets
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1 bunch of collard greens, tough stems removed and thinly sliced
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 425F. In a large bowl combine the butter, miso, honey and vinegar. Mix until smooth and well incorporated.
  2. Add the chicken to the bowl and rub it all over with the mixture--even rubbing the mixture underneath the skin of the chicken. Place the chicken in a single layer in a roasting pan and bake in the oven until fully cooked and the skin is dark brown and lightly crips, about 30-35 minutes. Flip the chicken once or twice while cooking.  An internal temperature of 160-165F is what you're looking for.
  3. While the chicken bakes bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the cauliflower florets and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Remove from the water and drain. Add the cauliflower to a large bowl with 1 tablespoon butter and the heavy cream. Mash until smooth and creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. In a skillet over medium heat add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Once melted and the sliced collard greens and a healthy pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the collards are bright green, and tender. About 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  5. Divide the mashed cauliflower, collards and chicken between plates and serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

*The chicken recipe is adapted from The New York Times *Use this recipe as a guide *Adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary

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